Woman wielding machete arrested
Deputies say suspect also pointed a gun at staff in Kardashians’ clothing boutique.
A woman who authorities say barged into the Kardashians’ clothing boutique in West Hollywood on Thursday, pointed a revolver at the sales staff and then returned later with a machete has been arrested.
About 11:30 a.m., the woman entered Dash, pointed a handgun at an employee and shouted, “Stay away from Cuba!” according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. She then knocked items off a counter and pointed the gun at a second employee, mumbling incoherently before she left.
Deputies, with the help of a police helicopter, conducted a “thorough search” to locate the woman, described as about 5 feet 10 and 170 pounds, with blond hair and a bandanna around her forehead. They couldn’t find her.
About two hours after her first visit, the woman returned wielding a 14-inch machete, authorities said. She paced back and forth outside the exclusive Melrose Avenue store, shouting and waving the machete.
Photographers covering
About 11:30 a.m., the woman entered Dash, pointed a handgun at an employee and shouted, ‘Stay away from Cuba!’ according to the L.A. County Sheriff ’s Department.
the gun incident captured images. She then wedged the machete into the front doorway and left, walking west on Melrose toward La Cienega Boulevard.
A second search was conducted, but again the woman wasn’t found. Investigators examined security video of the incidents and identified the woman as Maricia Medrano, 35.
She was arrested about 9 p.m. at her home, officials said. Investigators there found two airsoft guns similar to the one used earlier in the day in West Hollywood, officials said.
Medrano was booked on suspicion of assault and making criminal threats and was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
This isn’t the first time someone has targeted the Kardashian business.
Last year, a passerby called 911 and reported seeing a man throw a “lit object” through the store’s frontdoor window. The attack broke the door’s glass but didn’t cause any significant damage inside. When deputies arrived, they found the “heavy object” smoldering inside, but nothing else had been burned.